Lumber czar, whose unfaithful staff is trying to sabotage him, takes a car trip with his two grandkids, who are certain they've spotted gnomes in the forest. Upton Sinclair's book becomes a sometimes-sticky sweet comedy from Walt Disney, one saddled with the company's usual ingredients: broad slapstick for the matinée crowds, mercenary corporate baddies, and an extended car chase. Walter Brennan, in a dual role, and Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice (the two cute kids from "Mary Poppins") are lively, yet "The Gnome-Mobile" isn't particularly inventive. Too much screen-time is wasted on contrivances, such as a freak-show entrepreneur kidnapping two of the gnomes (a glinty-eyed villain who does everything but tie the gnomes to the railroad tracks). The enjoyable opening promises a lot more fun than what is delivered, and the screenplay goes for such easy laughs that even children may find their patience taxed. The finale is a big, effects-laden splash with marriage-crazed female gnomes going on a manhunt, but it is unable to redeem the film's overall feeling of fatigue. ** from ****

The kids from Mary Poppins are re-united on screen to play modern-day siblings in this likable live-action Disney feature. Also on display are some neat special effects (for the time, anyway), in which normal-sized actors and gnomes seem to share the same screen space.Rodney (Matthew Garber) and Elizabeth (Karen Dotrice) arrive in San Francisco to meet up with their grandfather D.J Mulrooney (Walter Brennan), who runs a successful lumber company. They drive out to a redwood forest for a picnic, where Elizabeth happens across a gnome named Jasper (Tom Lowell), who begs her for help. Seems Jasper's grandpa Knobby (Brennan, again) is on the verge of death-by-depression because he thinks that he and Jasper are the world's only remaining gnomes and has lost all hope of seeing young Jasper finding a wife. Rodney, Elizabeth and D.J agree to help the gnomes by driving them to other forests further up the coast. En route, an opportunistic freak-show boss, Quaxton (Sean McClory), catches a glimpse of the gnomes and kidnaps them for his carnival. Matters worsen when D.J tries to get his own security agents to lead the hunt for the kidnapped gnomes, for they dismiss his orders as the ramblings of a mad-man and have him locked away in an asylum. Rodney and Elizabeth are the only ones who can free their grandfather, rescue the gnomes, and find a bride for Jasper before it's too late!Generally-speaking the film is likable and entertaining. Brennan is always a pleasure to watch and this is no exception (in fact, a double-pleasure as he has a dual role). Both child-actors are pretty good, especially Garber who demonstrates an understanding of comic timing/underplaying that most kids just don't have. The special effects are impressive for 1967, with convincing visual trick work to have the gnomes interacting with the humans, and some well done talking-animal-scenes at the beginning of the film. There are a few drawbacks. The title song 'Gnome-Mobile' is truly horrible, and McClory's villain isn't built up enough to make him a hissable bad guy. He just sort of appears in a few scenes looking shady, then disappears from the story without his role in it amounting to very much.On the whole, I like The Gnome-Mobile. It's harmless fun, with an inventive plot, enjoyable performances and lots of agreeably zany episodes.

I can not believe that the great American Upton Sinclair wrote a children's book about gnomes. I further can not believe that Disney, the leader of children's entertainment, could have produced such a load saccahrain sweet moronic celluloid. Finally I get eerie shivers when I recall the Gnome Mobile song. All I can explain that the songwriters must had eaten too much mellow yellow (the movie was created in the late 1960's after all). As for the rest of the movie, just remember that Disney went periods of creative droughts, and this movie is proof.

We are both Walter Brennan fans and fantasy lovers. We remember this fondly from years ago...how we would like to own it! We thought it was Disney because it involved two Disney child actors (from Mary Poppins). Does anyone know whether it has ever been released to video?